Plastic materials appear to be an inextricable part of our business lives. We produce plastic products, wrap them in plastic bags, and sell them to people who will probably use them with other plastic items. Claims that plastic production results in environmental issues and that plastic waste accumulates in islands such as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch obligate businesses to learn how to act responsibly towards one another and the environment.
What exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of plastic? If you are a supplier or retailer, have you ever considered why plastic is bad for the environment? How bad is it to use plastic? Well, the first step towards improvement is increased awareness. Let’s dive into the negative aspects of plastic so we can discover why plastic is harmful to the environment and, perhaps, develop a better approach to how we use it in merchandising.
Why is plastic bad for the environment?
Plastic releases gases and clogs up natural areas – even in ancient caves, visitors have left the plastic litter. Despite the many advantages of plastic, its lightweight nature, user-friendly designs, and adaptability for various applications, its negative effects cannot be ignored. Artists show the amount and effect of plastic usage through inspiring works of art about pollution and plastic damage to the environment.
Pollution and Health Risks
Plastic waste is visible in rivers, in the oceans (0.5% of all plastic debris), and in developing nations that do not have efficient garbage collection systems. According to the Plastic Soup Foundation, plastic particles are in our drinking water and surrounding air. Manufacturing plastic causes the release of toxins, too.
The Solid Waste Problem
There is a general awareness that we consume plastic products remarkably quickly and waste a lot. But are we aware that plastic waste massively contributes to solid waste? Plastics comprise around 12% of U.S. municipal solid waste, mainly through plastic containers and discarded packaging. The landfill space required is increasing since regular plastic can take over a century to decompose. Unfortunately, plastics release harmful toxins into the ground and water over that time.
Benefits Outweighed?
Plastics have tremendous fabrication capabilities, are molded into various shapes from organic polymers, and are corrosion-resistant. Plastics are a versatile material. They are used for food storage (although not without side effects such as leaching toxins into the food). Indeed, the problem with plastic – the low-cost, highly durable material – is due to plastic’s benefits, such as thermosetting plastic that can be made into any desired shape as solid objects. However, plastic waste remains a serious environmental concern.
10 Disadvantages of Plastic – In Production and Use
What are the disadvantages of making and using plastic? How does plastic harm the environment? The simple answer is that plastic pollutes the environment, takes a long time to biodegrade, and is difficult to recycle. But there are a lot more problems with plastic than that. Much more.
Here are some disadvantages of plastic that, perhaps, you never thought about:
Plastic production involves the use of potentially harmful chemicals. Over 170 fracking chemicals, some considered hazardous, are used to produce the raw plastic materials. Many of these chemicals have not undergone environmental risk assessments.
The disposal of plastic products has a powerful environmental impact, with mounds of trash worldwide and disposable cups littered in almost every corner of the globe. Globally, 1,000,000 plastic drinking bottles are purchased every minute. Why is single use plastic bad? Because it generates a lot of useless plastic to dispose of.
Most plastics are non-degradable. Unless we develop new ways to break down plastic, as the UC Berkeley chemists are doing, plastic will continue to take a long time to break down.
A lack of infrastructure means plastic debris is not managed properly. Many countries and cities do not invest in sound waste management systems or advance the circular economy, so most plastic packaging is sent to landfills or winds up in the natural environment. For example, Our World In Data says that 8,000,000 tonnes of plastic are disposed of annually in the ocean globally.
Toxic chemicals leach from plastic and have been found in human blood and tissue and in natural habitats such as Mount Everest. Is plastic harmful to humans? Exposure to these chemicals has been related to tumors, birth defects, and other human health disorders.
Plastic litter or chemicals contaminated with plastic may harm or kill marine wildlife. The Center for Biological Diversity says that annually, thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, seals, and other marine mammals get entangled in marine litter, plastic packaging that people have tossed, discarded fishing nets, or die from ingesting plastic.
Many plastic products are highly combustible, making them a fire hazard. If a structure is built with plastic windows, walls, or ceilings, the plastics could melt or burn, and burning plastic releases harmful chemicals, leading to devastating mega-fires that spread quickly and create smoke and dangerous chemicals.
Most plastic is made from nonrenewable resources such as crude oil, natural gas, or coal, which are nonrenewable fossil fuels. EarthDay says that more than 99% of plastic is produced using chemicals sourced initially from fossil fuels (such as CTO coal-to-olefin).
Plastics are dependent on fossil fuels. Fossil fuel-generated plastics are linked to the yearly increase in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing over 75% of GHG emissions. Creating plastics releases greenhouse gases, such as methane, from when they are first produced until they are eventually degraded in landfills, and they release carbon emissions. GHGs trap heat around the globe, causing global warming and rising sea levels. They also absorb and emit radiation. We could say that plastic and the environment has a negative correlation. The more plastic we produce and use, the greater the effects are.
There are problems with recycling plastic. Many types of plastic are not recyclable. 1-PET is the most widely recycled plastic, followed by 2-HDPE, and these are accepted at many recycling centers. However, non-recyclable plastics include composite plastics, plastic-coated paper products, polycarbonate plastic items (used in luggage cases due to their extreme strength), plastic stretch film, snack wrappers, cellophane, and antifreeze containers. These must be discarded in the trash and eventually end up in landfills.
Solutions for Plastic Pollution and Eco-Friendly Alternatives
Is there a different way to have plastic items while causing less damage?
Less plastic and the environment: Using less plastic where possible will cause less damage. Streamlining product packaging can make a noticeable difference in the plastic pollution generated.
Other materials: Alternatively, producers who rely on plastic packaging can investigate semi-synthetic materials and eco-friendly alternatives to plastic, including glass, compostable plastics, cardboard, reusable steel items and containers, bioplastics, paper, cloth, bamboo, and other plant-based packaging.
Mitigate plastic and its environmental effects: Larger manufacturers can support expensive clean-up efforts across the globe.
Plastic recycling: Industry leaders should learn about where recycling is available for end users. Placing instructions for the correct disposal of packaging materials on products increases awareness among consumers and could balance out plastic usage.
How Folene Packaging Acts Responsibly to Mitigate the Disadvantages of Plastic
Folene Packaging is a member of the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, which has included industry stakeholders in a more sustainable future since 2004. Folene Packaging commits to helping businesses reduce their ecological footprint by offering sustainable packaging solutions for businesses that need to use plastic shrink films.
Folene Packaging offers a comprehensive range of shrink-packaging films. Some films (our uncrosslinked films) are fully recyclable. Other shrink films from our sustainable Ecolene® line are biodegradable or made from over 50% PCR content. Folene Packaging does its utmost to support sustainable packaging practices.
Contact Folene Packaging to learn more about our brands, Flxtite® and Ecolene®, and our commitment to minimizing the disadvantages of plastic.
